I am a year out from losing my youngest son and over the past six months have realized that reading Psalms really helps with grief. I have long gone to the Psalms when I needed comfort or direction. Now, I see the authors lamenting and then seeking God. Both of these coexisting: being real with the pain, but then remembering the truth of who God is and what His Word says. Grief and Glory. The Psalmists use a lot of metaphors–this helps those who are depressed or grieving. So, I have decided to study them in depth.
Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
Psalm 1:1
Psalm 1 was the very first Scripture I had ever studied. I had just become a believer and my friend, Lori, asked me to study the Word together. This became my life chapter. I remember reading this Psalm and trying to figure out the meaning. I was 18. I read bits of the Bible the summer before, but after praying to receive Christ as my Savior and Lord in December of 1988, I read the Word and it was different. Things made more sense. It was like blinders had come off. Now, 32 years later, I reread these same verses and there is still more digging to do and more wisdom to see.
Spurgeon reveals that this Psalm is called the “Christian’s Guide”–discovering the quicksand where the ungodly sink and the firm ground where believers stand. Augustine and Jerome claim that this Psalm is intended to describe the character of Jesus. Many see this Psalm as an introduction to the entire book of Psalms.
Blessed. This has been a very hard word for me to get my mind around while grieving. I have had a hard time understanding and believing that I am blessed now, because I am experiencing so much pain. But, the definition of this word helps-blessed means “deep-seated joy and contentment IN GOD”. It may not be that I am feeling happy. But, I do know, even when I am angry with God (a normal part of grief), that I have a deep-seated joy and contentment–understanding His love for me and sacrifice for me. There is a core joy in my heart beneath all of the tears and hurt. Another definition is “redemptive favor”: the idea that He has redeemed me is what makes me “blessed.” His salvation is what makes me blessed.
This Psalm starts out similarly to the Sermon on the Mount: the first sermon that Jesus gives on the side of the Sea of Galilee to his disciples and listening Pharisees. It is a benediction-the utterance of a blessing upon a group of people.
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or ungodly. Instead, he walks in the commandments of the Lord which brings the way of peace. Luke 1:79 encourages that the Lord can “give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” His footsteps are ordered by God’s Word and he does not herd with those who do evil. It is important to remember, though, that hardship and suffering may come, even when we seek God wholeheartedly; however, obedience still brings peace.
The ungodly gives counsel.
The sinner has a way.
The scorner takes a seat.
What is the ungodly’s counsel? He doesn’t care about his salvation or the salvation of others. He advises: don’t trouble yourself with prayer or reading or repentance–thinking his ways are right, even appearing to live rightly. Maybe even taking the part of teacher, counselor, instructor but not being qualified as he does not humble himself to walk in the law of the Lord.
The sinner’s way? Pick your label. Pick your sin. Pick your vice. But, this verse says don’t STAND in it. Stand means to be “firm or fixed” like a column. Don’t stay in it like an ancient column in ruin. We all sin, but we can repent and seek restoration and forgiveness. We are all sinners. However, Christians are repentant sinners.
The scorner sits. Sits down. Makes themselves comfortable in the mocking of God and in believing all unbelief.
So, here we see the contrast between the unrighteous and the righteous. Both sin, but the godly person cares about salvation and the salvation of others. They repent and resist sin. This may be a huge battle, with many defeats, but it is a battle nonetheless; the believer is not comfortable in the sin and in mocking God.
The Psalmist, David, puts this in the negative: walks not… nor stands…nor sits. There is no room for having BOTH: Don’t listen to the godly and ungodly, don’t follow the sinner and the righteous, don’t sit with the scorner and the humble as to the way you should go. Sometimes we listen to both. This passage is saying don’t. Instead, go to the law of the Lord to instruct and teach and show you.
Grief and Glory 